This invention relates generally to maintaining hygienic protocols in desirably sanitary environments and more particularly concerns a system, method and implementation for increasing a likelihood of practice of better hand hygiene habits by workers in a desirably sanitary environment such as in a hospital, clinic or medical or dental office or a food preparation, packaging or handling facility or the like.
There is an immediate need for improvement in hand hygiene practices in hospitals, clinics and medical and dental offices and food preparation, packaging and handling businesses. For example, serious nosocomial, hospital-acquired infections affect more than two million patients per year and have been estimated to cause 90,000 patient deaths per year at a cost of treatment approximating $4.5 billion per year in the United States. At the same time, hand washing compliance rates are at an unacceptable 18 to 40 percent and have been reported to be lowest in intensive care units, the highest risk areas of a hospital. Thirty-three percent of hospital acquired infections can be prevented and hand-hygiene is the single most important factor in preventing these infections.
Patients often carry resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) or vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) on their skin. Numerous studies show that proper hand hygiene reduces the spread of bacteria in various healthcare settings. Nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers can contaminate their hands by doing simple tasks, including taking a patient's blood pressure or pulse, assisting patients, touching a patient's gown or bed sheets or touching equipment such as bedside rails, over bed tables and IV pumps. The problem is complicated by the circumstance that the sanitary condition of the hands is essentially invisible and undetectable to patients, restaurant workers or other types of workers.
Frequent washing of the hands with plain soap and water or with antimicrobial soap and water has long been recommended. Under new guidelines developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and infection-control organizations, it is now recommended that healthcare workers use an alcohol-based hand rub, whether a gel, rinse or foam, to routinely clean their hands between patient contacts. However, alcohol based rubs are recommended only if the hands are not visibly contaminated with blood or body fluids. More than 20 published studies prove that alcohol-based hand rubs are more effective than soap in reducing the number of bacteria on hands. Therefore, alcohol-based hand-rubs are preferred for routinely cleaning hands before having direct contact with patients, after having direct contact with a patient's skin, after touching equipment or furniture near the patient and after removing gloves. Moreover, several studies also show that nurses who routinely clean their hands between patients by using an alcohol-based hand rub experience the added advantage of less skin irritation and dryness than nurses who wash their hands with soap and water. This advantage is achievable because alcohol-based hand rubs contain skin conditioners or emollients that help prevent the drying effects of alcohol.
Despite the recommendations, there are many relatively obvious and unsophisticated factors which contribute to the prevailing pattern of poor hand washing compliance. Sinks and gel dispensers may be inconveniently located. Hands may already be irritated and dry, discouraging continued washing. Some workers are just “too busy.” Some assume or believe that the risk of spreading infection is low. And some simply forget. Some institutions do not emphasize hand hygiene as a priority. Some institutions offer hand hygiene education to their workers but neither sanction the non-compliers nor reward the compliers. In fact, scientific evidence demonstrates that education alone does not change behavioral patterns. Rather, behavioral pattern changes are promoted by operant conditioning in the form of rewards, such as green lights and redemption points, and in the form of sanctions, such as red lights and poor performance reports.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a system, method and implementation to promote the benefits of improved hand hygiene. Another object of this invention is to provide a system, method and implementation to increase the likelihood of practice of better hand hygiene habits by workers in a desirably sanitary environment. Still another object of this invention is to provide a system, method and implementation which make hand hygiene products more available and convenient to workers in a desirably sanitary environment. An additional object of this invention is to provide a system, method and implementation which are capable of reminding workers of the need to use the hand hygiene system. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a system, method and implementation which are capable of monitoring workers' hand hygiene activities. A further object of this invention is to provide a system, method and implementation which are useful in encouraging both workers and others present in the vicinity of a desirably sanitary environment to consistently practice proper hand hygiene protocol. It is also an object of this invention to provide a system, method and implementation which are able to provide feedback useful in improving habits fostering hand hygiene. Another object of this invention is to provide a system, method and implementation which provide a basis for implementing a strategy of rewards and sanctions which will encourage the practice of better hand hygiene.